"Five minutes?"
The sword on the stone platform could not help but be stunned.
Sword Quintessence was the pinnacle of swordsmanship, and it was not something that could be achieved easily. Without several hundred years of accumulation, it would be nigh impossible to achieve it.
Even the Old Sword Elder had to accumulate more than a hundred years before he could succeed!
The young man before him seemed to be in his twenties, but it was already a terrifying feat for him to have comprehended Upper Sword Heart...
To think that he would be able to achieve a breakthrough to Sword Quintessence in just five minutes …
How was this possible?
"Elder, don't listen to his nonsense. He must be stalling for time. If he doesn't make a move, I fear that something unexpected might happen …"
Seeing that the situation was already spiraling out of control, Ji Lingzhen began to panic.
I didn't summon you to exchange pleasantries with the enemy … As a weapon, can't you be a little more professional?
"Shut up!"
The sword shouted.
Buzz!
Before Ji Lingzhen could react, he felt a sharp Sword Qi flying in his direction.
Bang!
His face turned red, and he vomited a mouthful of blood. He was sent flying, and a bloody gash appeared on his chest.
Ji Lingzhen struggled to his feet, and his face turned pale.
All along, he had only known that the sword was a Saint high-tier artifact, but he had no idea what tier it was at. However, upon sensing the surge of sword qi, he realized that the sword was far more powerful than he had imagined!
Just a single surge of Sword Intent was enough to render him completely helpless. If the other party really wanted to kill him … there was no way he would be able to stop it!
"If you dare to talk nonsense again, do you believe that I will kill you right now?"
The sword snorted coldly.
It was no wonder that it was angry.
The Old Sword Maestro had died, leaving him here. There were two conditions for him to leave this place.
Firstly, he had to comprehend the meaning of the 'Sword' character on the outside. Secondly, his understanding of swordsmanship had to reach the level of Sword Quintessence.
Only by fulfilling these two conditions would one be able to leave the stone platform and soar into the vast ocean. Over the years, he had seen many geniuses, but it was a pity that none of them fulfilled the conditions.
Over the past several thousand years, Ji Lingzhen had come the closest to reaching Quintessence, but he was still unable to achieve a breakthrough to Quintessence.
If Zhang Shi was able to do it, there would be no need for him to wait any longer. Naturally, he didn't want anyone else to interfere with his plans!
"Senior …"
Thinking about how the friendship they had built up over several hundred years could not even compare to a few words from the other party, Ji Ling's zhenqi trembled uncontrollably. "He used Impartation of Heaven's Will and demonic tunes on you to bewitch you.
"Bewitching?"
"Yes. Elder, think about it. Do you know how difficult it is to comprehend Sword Quintessence? How many geniuses have been stuck at this level? Even the Old Sword Maestro wouldn't have been able to achieve a breakthrough so easily!"
Ji Lingzhen advised earnestly, "He's just an Upper Sword Heart cultivator, and he hasn't even reached Half-Quintessence yet. How could he possibly achieve a breakthrough to Sword Quintessence in just a few minutes? It's clear that he's intentionally stalling for time in order to deceive you so that he can assimilate you … "
"This …"
The sword hesitated.
The other party was right. If Sword Quintessence could be comprehended that easily, it wouldn't be called the highest barrier in swordsmanship!
Back then, the Old Sword Maestro had dominated the entire Empire Alliance, defeating countless swordsman experts. This was because his comprehension of swordsmanship had reached the level of Sword Quintessence!
This level of comprehension was something that most 8-star master teachers were unable to achieve.
Could a twenty-year-old boy really make a breakthrough?
"This guy is full of tricks. He must be thinking of something else. Why don't we just kill him now …"
Seeing that Zhang Xuan was hesitating for a moment, Ji Lingzhen knew that the latter was tempted, and he hurriedly called out. However, before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. Following which, he felt an incomparably powerful surge of sword qi soaring into the sky.
Hong long!
It was as if the entire Sword Lagoon was boiling. In the blink of an eye, innumerable Sword Intent surged over from the distance, converging toward the Sword Lagoon.
"This is …"
Feeling the Sword Intent that he had comprehended being suppressed to the point that he was unable to move at all, Ji Lingzhen's face paled. Controlling his stiff body, he turned his gaze in the direction where the Sword Intent was coming from.
The next moment, he saw the young man who had just spoken. Even though his eyes were tightly shut, it felt as if he had morphed into a sharp sword that would tear through the air and kill him at any moment!
Weng weng weng weng!
Innumerable swords flew in from outside the formation, and they floated in the air before prostrating themselves on the ground, as if they had met their king.
"Myriad Swords Greeting … Is this Sword Quintessence?"
Ji Lingzhen's face paled, and his body swayed weakly.
He had just said that the other party was scheming against something, and it was impossible for him to achieve a breakthrough when such a situation occurred. He felt as if he was going to faint from shock.
Seven hundred years ago, he had already reached Half-Quintessence, and he had spent so much time researching it, but he was still unable to achieve a breakthrough. On the other hand, the other party had only closed his eyes for a few minutes, and he had already achieved a breakthrough …
The massive difference left him on the verge of collapsing.
Even though he was witnessing it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe.
"H-he has comprehended Sword Quintessence? This is bad … "
Ji Lingfeng's eyes narrowed in horror.
He had thought that the Old Sword Maestro's sword would make a move and kill Zhang Xuan right away, but who could have thought that it would be so ambiguous? Furthermore, the latter had even achieved a breakthrough … Perhaps, it might even acknowledge him as its master!
In other words, they would be in grave danger!
"Run!"
Realizing this, Ji Lingfeng did not dare to stay any longer. Gritting his teeth, he turned around and dashed out of the mist.
Even though he had been brought here by Ji Lingzhen, he had still memorized the route he had taken. Furthermore, the formation had been shattered, so it was not too difficult for him to escape.
Hualala!
Barely after taking two steps forward, he suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. Following which, he felt his lower body disappearing right before his eyes.
Turning around, he saw Ji Lingzhen retracting his finger. The sword qi that had pierced through his body had come from the latter's fingertip.
After doing so, he hurriedly turned around to look at the stone platform. "Elder, I was bewitched by that fellow, and that's why I made a move on Zhang Shi. As you know, it has been many years since I last ventured out.
"You …"
Padah!
The upper half of Ji Lingfeng's body fell to the ground, and fresh blood spurted profusely from his wound. Even at the moment of his death, he could not believe that his elder brother would actually kill him.
"Shut up! Don't disturb Zhang Shi's breakthrough!"
The sword bellowed coldly, seemingly used to seeing people die.
"Yes!"
Ji Lingzhen stood silently on the spot, not daring to say a word.
Even a newcomer like Ji Lingfeng was able to see through the sword's attitude. Having accompanied the sword for several centuries, how could he possibly not?
In order to tame the sword, one had to comprehend Sword Quintessence. Considering that the other party had already reached this level, it was only a matter of time before he managed to tame the sword.
Once he succeeded, his life would be forfeit. Thus, he made the decision to kill Ji Lingfeng to distance himself from the other party.
In the face of death, he could even kill a master teacher, let alone a brother!
Zhang Xuan paid no heed to the happenings on the other side. With his clone guarding him, he was fully immersed in the Heaven's Path Sword Art that he had collected previously.
This sword art could be said to have gathered the wisdom of all swordsmen in the Conferred Empires and even the Empire Alliance. Upon learning it, one's Primordial Spirit would seem to have turned into a sword that was incomparably sharp. It was as if it could destroy the world at any moment, unleashing a might that would shock the world.
After the Primordial Spirit Sword was formed, it seemed to have gained incredible control over sword-type weapons that were weaker than it. With just a thought, it was possible to control them.
But of course, this was only the most superficial form of control. In order to gain full control over it, it would have to be tamed first.
But even so, it was already a fearsome feat!
With this ability, it would be impossible for a sword cultivator of the same cultivation realm to defeat him.
"My comprehension of swordsmanship has deepened. Every single move of mine is infused with Sword Intent … If I were to use a sword, my fighting prowess would be twice that of a fist art or palm art!"
Closing his eyes tightly, Zhang Xuan felt the Sword Intent coursing through his body, and with that, he had a clear understanding of his current strength.
"As expected of Sword Quintessence, it's incredible … Right, with this strength, will I be able to defeat my clone?"
A thought suddenly surfaced in Zhang Xuan's mind.
"Forget it … It's better if I don't get pummeled!"
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Even though he and his clone came from the same body, through the Nine Hearts Lotus, the other party's strength far surpassed his. Every time he felt that he had improved, he would find that the other party had grown even stronger …
It was the same this time as well.
Since he had comprehended Sword Quintessence, as long as he communicated with the other party, it would mean that the other party had also comprehended his Sword Quintessence. How could he possibly defeat the other party?
If he were to really make a move, he would surely be pummeled into a pig's head once more.
Zhang Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
The next moment, he saw more than a hundred Saint intermediate-tier swords prostrating themselves not too far away, trembling in fear.
"It's no wonder the Dusk Cloud Sword was so fearful of Ma Minghai.
After comprehending Sword Quintessence, he finally understood why the Dusk Cloud Sword was trembling.
With this ability, he could easily erase the other party's spirit, so how could he not be fearful?
"Zhang Shi, congratulations on achieving a breakthrough … I was bewitched by that scoundrel, Ji Lingfeng, and that's why I made the wrong decision. I hope that you can forgive me!"
Following which, Zhang Xuan suddenly heard a voice. Turning his head over, he saw Ji Lingzhen kneeling not too far away, his eyes filled with fear.
He had already been no match for Ji Lingzhen in the past, and the sword on the stone platform was clearly biased toward him. On top of that, Ji Lingzhen wielded so many Saint-tier swords.
"Forgive me?"
Zhang Xuan frowned. It was only at this moment that he realized that Ji Lingfeng had already been killed. He turned to his clone and communicated with him telepathically. Soon, he understood what was going on, and a deep frown formed on his forehead.
To even kill one's own brother, one must have lost all sense of morality and humanity.
After instructing his clone, Zhang Xuan turned his attention back to the stone platform not too far away.
"Zhang Shi!"
The sword exclaimed in agitation.
Ever since the Old Sword Maestro's death, it had been sealed here for more than ten thousand years. Even though it had been in hibernation for most of its time, there was no way it would be willing to stay behind if it could.
"Zhang Shi, I have the Old Sword Maestro's heritage on me. You'll need to pull me out of the stone platform in order for it to appear …"
A thought transmitted to Zhang Xuan.
"Pull it out?"
Only then did Zhang Xuan realize that the sword was stuck tightly in the center of the stone platform. It was as if something was restraining it, preventing it from moving at all.
No matter how powerful it was, it was unable to break free.
"If even you can't break free, how am I supposed to pull it out?"
Zhang Xuan asked doubtfully.
(Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone!)
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